Process of manufacturing lubricating oils



May 1, 1934. J. HANSEN PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING LUBRICATING OILS Filed Dec. 3, 1926 Patented May l, 1934 NETED STATES @FFECE PROCESS 0F MANUFACTURING LUBROATING OILS Virginia Application December 3, 1926, Serial No. 152,342

5 Claims.

This invention relates to a process of manufacturing lubricating oils, and consists in the novel procedure hereinafter disclosed.

In the manufacture or" lubricating oils from certain classes of petroleum crudos, the resulting product has an odor due to basic ingredients' and also to decomposition of certain ingredients resulting from the purifying treatment.

in order to rectify this condition so far as possible, the present practice of manufacture of lubricating oils from the crude petroleums thus characterized, includes a preliminary treatment to the purifying treatment. rlhis preliminary treatment includes distillation in vacuum stills or otherwise, to first out the lubricating oil distillate from the gas oils and from the asphaltic residue. The lubricating oil distillate is then subjected to an acid treatment and a neutralizing treatment. The product is then redistilled. The re-run distillate is then subjected to the purifying treatment. The result has not been entirely satisfactory from the standpoint of deodorizing the final product.

1t has been found that this process may be greatly simplied by the method of the present invention, whereby the redistillation of the lubricating oil stock is eliminated, and likewise the neutralizing treatment has become unnecessary. The product is better from the standpoint of clarication or color, and the product is also substantially deodorized, thus eliminating a commercial defect in the product as now manufactured.

An example of the process comprises briey the subjection of the acid rst run lubricating oil distillate to treatment in a contact filter apparatus in which the stock is mixed with an adsorbent and purifying medium in a mixing tank through which it is circulated and, at the same time, subjected to treatment with steam. During the treatment, a vacuum is maintained in the tank, and the temperature is raised to a sufficient degree to volatilize the odoriierous ingredients and to drive off all Water vapor, in practice, to approximately 300 degrees Fahrenheit, or below. After treatment, the treated stock is Withdrawn, filter-pressed and cooled in the usual manner. The maintenance of a Vacuum during the contact treatment eliminates the ingredients that produce the disagreeable odor in the nal product and also the products of the acid treatment of the oil, therefore reducing the odor and, at the same time, carrying ofi the products from the acid treatment, thereby producing a deodorized oil freed from acid ingredients and rectied as to color. The maintenance of a vacuum also permits the use of reduced temperatures to accomplish the volatilization of the ingredients it is desired to eliminate from the product.

The details of the process will be better understood by reference to a description of the treatment, the means for Which are provided by an apparatus exemplied in the drawing, in which a suitable form of apparatus is diagrammatically illustrated.

-First run acid treated lubricating oil distillate is fed through the pipe 1 to a mixing tank 2 and the adsorbent material in proper quantity is fed to the tank through the pipe 3. It Will be un- 0 derstood that the adsorbent material may be any of the known mediums for this purpose comprising comminuted clay or metallic earths, such as fullers earth or other mineral clay commonly used in contact iilter processes. It will be understood that, before the acid oil is introduced into the mixing tank, the acid sludge is removed in the ordinary Way after the acid treatment in the acid agitators.

The mixture of the oil stock and adsorbent medium is rapidly agitated in the tank preferably by circulation o the material by a pump 4 connected with the tank 2 by a pipe 5 controlled by a valve 6 and returned to the tank through a pipe '7 through a heater 8 heated by a steam coil, a steam supply pipe 9 being provided for that purpose. The material returns to the tank 2 through a pipe 10 having a valve 11 therein, a by-pass 12 having a valve 13 therein being provided so that the returning stream of material may be introduced on return to the tank at different elevations.

During the circulation of the material, it is raised to a temperature suficient to volatilize the ingredients causing the odor and to drive olf all V. Water vapor or, in practice, to approximately 300 degrees Fahrenheit. The material is held at this temperature While subjected to a treatment by steam admitted to the tank 2 through a steam supply pipe 14. A vacuum is maintained throughout the treatment by any suitable means. One apparatus for maintaining the vacuum, as illustrated in the drawing, comprises an exhaust pipe 15 connected into a receiver 16 Which is exhausted by a steam aspirator 1'? supplied with steam through the steam passage 18, the steam condensing in a condenser 19. The receiver 16 is provided with a drain pipe 2O controlled by a valve 21.

It has been found that the treatment of the material under a vacuum with the injection of steam for a period of approximately one hour is suflicient to decolorize and deodorize the oil, and that the product is sufliciently clarified and the odor thereof suiiiciently corrected within the time of treatmentmentioned to satisfy the necessary commercial standards.

After treatment in the mixing tank has been completed, the treated oil mixed with the adsorbent clay is withdrawn through the pipe 22, which is controlled by a valve 23by a pump 24, by which it is pumped to the filter press 25 where the oil is separated from the clay, the oil, after separation, being carried through the pipe 26 to the cooler 27, from which it is discharged into a pipe 28 to a rundown tank 29 from whence it is taken through a pipe 30 to'storage.

It is thus seen that the method of treatment of the present invention greatly simplies the known processes for lubricating, oil clarification, and, at the same time, produces a product suiiiciently odorless to satisfy commercial requirements.

While the use of injected steam promotes the rapidity of the clarifying and deodorizing action, it is Ynot entirely essential, as the treatment under vacuum will, by itself, remove the ingredients that impart to the oil the disagreeable and unsatisfactory odor.

It willv be understood that the rapidity of conducting the decolorizing and deodorizing process is increased as .the degree of vacuum maintained inthe tank 2 is increased.v It will also be understood that, by using a relatively high degree of vacuum, .the temperature at which the treatment. proceeds may be correspondingly reduced, and, therefore, that the likelihood of decomposition of. the oil willV be minimized. It is desirable, therefore, to maintain as high a degree of vacuum as is economically practicable with the apparatus employed for conducting the process.

I am aware that the method may be practiced with apparatus of other construction and it is not intended to restrict the invention beyond the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. The process of purifying acid treated petroleum oils which consists in cycling the said treated oil with an adsorbent material and in the presenceofV a partial vacuum injecting steam into the mixture formed, and simultaneously subjecting said mixture to external heat to drive ofi vapors from the oil stock remaining in the liquid phase, whereby the volatilized constituents are separated from the mixture by suction.

2. The process of manufacturing lubricating oil which includes commingling a solid adsorbent material with acid treated distillate stock, heating and maintaining the resultant mixture at a temperature of approximately 300 F., simultaneously applying a vacuum to said mixture and thereafter removing the adsorbent material.

3. The process as described in claim 2 but in which steam is injected into the mixture while Linder Vacuum.

4. The process of manufacturing lubricating oil which includes introducing an acid treated distillate stock intoa chamber, applying a vacuum to said chamber, injecting steaminto the mixture in said chamber, continuously withdrawing part of themixture from the chamber, heating the withdrawn material, and returning said withdrawn material to the first mentioned chamber.

5. The process as described in claim4 but in which the temperature in the chamber is maintained at or below 300 F.

JU'LIUS HANSEN. 

